Tuesday, October 06, 2009

New Thinking in Health Care Reform: State Run Cooperatives?

Hmm this seems like an idea that may get some Republicans to jump on board.

A new proposal by Sen. Tom Carper would spell out how to boost competition in the private market by enacting government-run plans at the state level. States could act alone or in concert with others to gain more leverage in the marketplace, and would be bound by the same rules established for private companies using the national insurance exchange envisioned by the Senate Finance bill. Another option would entail states opening their workers' employee-benefit plans to the general public.

The Governator seems to be behind the plan. I would think he would be all for trying to reduce the rates for California. As long as these co-ops allow every insurance company in the country to compete equally then it should be looked at. I like the idea of being part of a West Coast Insurance Co-op that included Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and California would all work together to reduce costs for its members.

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